U.S Democratic representative proposes bill to further investigate the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang

27-05-2023

Marios Putro

South and East Asia Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

U.S. Representative of N.Y., and a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Ritchie Torres, introduced The Uyghur Genocide Intelligence Review Act, on May 15 (U.S. House of Representatives, 2023). In an attempt to shed further light on the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur ethnic minority in the northwest region of Xinjiang, the bill requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), to form an annual report on the matter. More specifically, within 180 days of the ratification of the act, the DNI, along with relevant members of the intelligence community, need to form a report on matters related to: 

the forced sterilisation of Uyghurs, the forced transfer of Uyghur children from their families, the forced labor of Uyghurs, the work conditions of Uyghur laborers, any forms of physical and psychological torture against Uyghurs, any actions undermining the rights of Uyghurs to live freely in accordance to their culture, customs, and religion, and the methods of surveillance of Uyghurs (U.S. House of Representatives, 2023).

Most of the currently available information regarding the genocide derives from satellite imagery, leaked government documents, and officials’ speeches on Chinese government websites. (Ingram, 2023). According to Torres’ spokesman, open-source intelligence has a limited capability of disclosing the atrocities against the Uyghurs, compared to the potential of the U.S. intelligence services. The legislation has been endorsed by the House Select Committee on the CCP and the Uyghur Human Rights Project while also received with cautious feelings. Peter Irwin of the Uyghur Human Rights Project has stated that even though quite beneficial, Torres’ new bill could potentially be used by the Chinese state to push the geopolitical narrative of the US’s attempt to take down China (Ingram, 2023). 

Sources and further readings: 

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres Files Federal Legislation Requiring Annual Intelligence Report on Uyghur Genocide in Xinjiang, China - Torres. (26/05/2023). Torres. https://ritchietorres.house.gov/posts/u-s-rep-ritchie-torres-files-federal-legislation-requiring-annual-intelligence-report-on-uyghur-genocide-in-xinjiang-china

Ingram, R. (2023, May 25). Will Congress task U.S. spies to dig deeper in Xinjiang? The China Project. https://thechinaproject.com/2023/05/24/will-congress-task-u-s-spies-to-dig-deeper-in-xinjiang/